The Funeral of Saint Stephen

The Funeral of Saint Stephen — Filippo Lippi. c. 1460.

Medium: pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash with traces of stylus over traces of black chalk. Dimensions: Sheet: 24.9 x 19.3 cm (9 13/16 x 7 5/8 in.); Secondary Support: 24.9 x 19.3 cm (9 13/16 x 7 5/8 in.).

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Since frescoes in 15th-century Italy often presented complex narratives, details of storytelling had to be carefully worked out before beginning to paint on wet plaster. Here Fra (Father) Filippo Lippi made a preliminary plan for a composition depicting the funeral of Saint Stephen, part of his fresco cycle on the lives of Saints Stephen and John the Baptist in the cathedral of Prato. His use of the free-flowing but permanent medium of ink allows us to see today the areas where he changed his mind—such as the placement of Stephen’s head and the figure at the altar.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.